3 Tasty Recipes for National Macaroon Day

31st May 2014
/ By Kristin Hilton

Happy National Macaroon Day! To celebrate, we’re sharing three of our favorite macaroon recipes for you to try. Unlike the French Macaron (Macaroon’s fluffy, sandwich-like cousin), these coconut and almond confections are incredibly easy to make.

Traditionally, Macaroons are a flourless cookie made with almond paste. Their history traces back to 9th century Italy, where they were popularized by monks who immigrated to France. The coconut variety was developed later, and it was adopted by Italian Jews who could eat the unleavened cookies during Passover.

Traditional Almond Macaroons

Preheat your oven to 350°F. In a food processor, grind up 1 cup almonds (save the rest for later) with granulated sugar until almost powdery. Add the egg white, the almond extract, and a pinch of salt and pulse until well-blended. To form the cookies, roll the dough into small, 1 inch balls, and arrange them 2 inches apart on a lightly-greased baking sheet. Flatten the ball slightly with your fingers and sprinkle them with powdered sugar. Press a single almond in the center of each cookie and bake for 10 minutes. The macaroons should be a pale golden brown. Remove from tray and cool on a wire rack.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk the egg whites, vanilla extract, honey, and lemon zest in a large bowl. Add salt and continue whisking until frothy. Add the coconut and melted butter and mix well. Let the mixture sit for at least 20 minutes, until the coconut has soaked up the liquid. If needed, add more coconut. To form the cookies, use an ice cream scoop to form tightly-packed balls, and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the tops of the macaroons are golden brown. Carefully transfer the whole parchment paper sheet onto a wire rack to cool. Once they are cooled, carefully peel them off the sheet.

Melt the chocolate and coconut oil for the coating (you can use a double boiler or the microwave, but keep the chocolate warm over a bowl of hot water). Dip the bottom of each macaroon in the chocolate and place on the wire rack with the chocolate facing up. Sprinkle the chopped pistachios while the chocolate is still melted and let dry. NOTE: If the cookies fall apart (or fall in) as you try to dip them, you can spoon the melted chocolate onto the bottom of the cookies instead.

Coconut Raspberry Macaroons

Preheat your oven to 325°F. Blend the coconut and the sugar in a food processor (or powerful blender) for two minutes. Add the egg whites, salt and almond extract and blend until combined. Add the raspberries but don’t fully blend them in–just pulse the blender until it’s about half mixed, so the color is marbled with flecks of raspberry. Use a spoon or an ice cream scoop to form small domed cookies. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake for 30 minutes. Let them cool on the tray.

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